Rick Porcello gets 20th win, Red Sox rout Blue Jays

Published 10:43 pm, Friday, September 9, 2016

Red Sox starting pitcher Rick Porcello delivers in the first inning against the Blue Jays on Friday.

Red Sox starting pitcher Rick Porcello delivers in the first inning against the Blue Jays on Friday.

Photo: Peter Power — The Canadian Press Via AP

Rick Porcello gets 20th win, Red Sox rout Blue Jays

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TORONTO >> Rick Porcello pitched seven innings to become the first 20-game winner in the majors, Hanley Ramirez hit a three-run homer and the Boston Red Sox increased their AL East lead to two games by routing the Toronto Blue Jays 13-3 on Friday night.

Xander Bogaerts homered and Dustin Pedroia had three hits and four RBIs as the Red Sox used 18 hits to rough up the sloppy, slumping Blue Jays in the opener of a pivotal three-game series between the division’s top two teams.

Porcello (20-3) allowed two runs and six hits to become Boston’s first 20-game winner since Josh Beckett in 2007. Porcello came in 6-7 with a 5.27 ERA in 15 career games against Toronto but kept the Blue Jays in check.

The Red Sox broke it open by scoring six runs in a 10-batter seventh. Bogaerts hit a leadoff drive off Scott Feldman, his 18th. Three batters later, Ramirez connected off Feldman, his 22nd. Pedroia capped the rally with a two-run single off Ryan Tepera.

Boston (79-61) surpassed its win total from a last-place finish in 2015, when it went 78-84.

Toronto, which was swept in a three-game series at Yankee Stadium earlier this week, fell to 1-6 in September. The Blue Jays had won six of their previous eight against the Red Sox.

Blue Jays right-hander Marco Estrada (8-8) allowed four runs, three earned, and six hits in 2 1/3 innings, his shortest outing of the season. The last time Estrada failed to finish three innings was June 30, 2015, also a home loss to Boston.

Estrada is 3-5 with a 5.32 ERA in nine starts since being named an All-Star for the first time. He missed the All-Star Game after being placed on the disabled list because of a sore back.

Trainer’s room

Red Sox: OF Andrew Benintendi (left knee) ran the bases before the game and will try sliding as early as Saturday. “A very good day for him,” manager John Farrell said. There is still no timetable for Benintendi’s return. ... Boston recalled LHP Henry Owens from Triple-A Pawtucket.

Blue Jays: C Russell Martin (left knee) was held out of the lineup. Martin aggravated the injury in Wednesday’s loss at New York and was replaced by a pinch-hitter in the ninth. “He’s still pretty sore,” manager John Gibbons said.